MILWAUKEE – It was a homecoming for Notre Dame senior guard Arike Ogunbowale on Saturday, as she helped guide the No. 2 Irish (11-1) to an 87-63 victory over No. 19 Marquette (9-3) in her hometown of Milwaukee. The Irish earned their fourth top-25 win of the year and third away from home.
Ogunbowale poured in a career high tying 32 points, shooting 13-of-21 from the field. Brianna Turner tallied 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with her four blocks and eight rebounds. Jessica Shepard notched her fourth double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds, as the latter set a new high mark in an Irish uniform.
“What a great atmosphere for women’s basketball. The fans were really into the game. Marquette is a really good team who should be ranked higher than what they are,” Karen & Kevin Keyes Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “I was really proud of our post game. I thought we took advantage inside. I thought we were able to go in to Turner and Shepard did great on the boards. And what a homecoming for Arike. You couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”
How It Happened
Turner scored six of Notre Dame’s first 11 points and collected two blocks in the opening quarter, setting the tone for the Irish. Marquette fought back behind a trio of threes from Natisha Hiedeman, who sparked a Golden Eagles 8-0 run to take an 18-17 lead heading into the second.
Turner continued to ignite the Notre Dame offense in the second quarter where she tallied 10 points, finishing with 16 at the half on an efficient 8-of-9 shooting from the field. In fact, Turner, Shepard and Ogunbowale combined for 23 of the team’s 25 points in the period.
At 4:01 in the second quarter, Marquette’s Erika Davenport connected on a three-pointer, cutting Notre Dame’s lead to 31-27. What followed was an 11-0 Irish run that nearly spanned three minutes. All-in-all, the Irish converted 10 of their final 11 shots in the half to go up 42-29. Furthermore, 36 of their 42 points were scored in the paint and 17 off the fast break.
Ogunbowale took over in the third, scoring Notre Dame’s first 11 points. In addition, Shepard had reached her double-double by midway through the quarter. Ogunbowale ultimately finished with 15 points in the period, giving the Irish a 67-50 advantage heading into the last period.
In the fourth, the Irish kept Marquette off the board from 8:53 to 4:34, building a lead as large as 27. When the final buzzer sounded, Notre Dame had dished out 26 assists, marking the third straight game with 25 or more.
Co-Players of the Game
Ogunbowale secured her fourth 30-point game on the year with a career high tying 32 points this afternoon. The senior tallied 11 straight points to kick off the third, totaling 15 for the period.
Turner scored six of the first 11 points in the game and secured 10 points in the second. Turner finished with 20 points, marking her second 20-point game on the year.
Stat of the Game
The Irish defense forced three Marquette shot-clock violations in the game.
Notes
- Notre Dame now leads the overall series, 34-6, including a 13-5 mark in Milwaukee.
- Coach McGraw earned career win No. 899.
- Today’s game featured nine starters who all possessed over 1,000 career points. Notre Dame junior guard Jackie Young was the lone one out, entering the game with 978 career points and finishing with six.
- Ogunbowale is up to 2,054 points in her career, which ranks fifth all-time. The No. 4 spot is held by Ruth Riley with 2,074 points.
- Ogunbowale, who leads the ACC in 30-point scoring games, tallied her fourth on Saturday with 32 points. Ogunbowale surpassed Jewell Loyd’s record for most career games with 30 or more points with eight. In addition, Ogunbowale tied Loyd for most in a season with four.
- Ogunbowale, who leads the ACC in 20-point scoring games, tallied her ninth on Saturday.
- Shepard recorded her 11th consecutive game with double-digit points, marking her best stretch in an Irish uniform.
- Shepard recorded her fourth double-double of the season with her 15-point, 18-rebound performance. The 18 rebounds marked her highest total in an Irish uniform but two shy of her career best.
- Turner recorded four blocks for the second straight game and for the fourth time this season.
- Turner notched her second game with 20 or more points this season, falling one short of her season high.
- Shepard entered Saturday’s contest having made 15 consecutive field goals. The senior made her first two shots before missing her third thus tying Carey Poor’s all-time mark of 17 set back in 1994.
- The Irish dished out 25 or more assists for the third straight game, recording 26 on Saturday.
Up Next
Up next, the Irish disperse back to their hometowns for the holidays. They will return home for the final game of 2018 when the Irish host Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 30, at 1 p.m. ET at Purcell Pavilion.
–ND–